2018 United States Grand Prix
| poletime = 1:32.237 | fastestlap = 1:37.392 | fastestlapdriver = Lewis Hamilton | fastestlapnation = GBR | fastestlapteam = | fastestlapnumber = 40 | winner = Kimi Räikkönen | winnernation = FIN | winnerteam = | second = Max Verstappen | secondnation = NED | secondteam = | third = Lewis Hamilton | thirdnation = GBR | thirdteam = }} The 2018 United States Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Pirelli 2018 United States Grand Prix) was the eighteenth race of the 2018 Formula One season, the fortieth time the United States Grand Prix was held on the Formula One calendar, and the seventh time it was held at the Circuit of the Americas. It was held between 19 October and 21 October 2018. In qualifying, Lewis Hamilton took his eighty-first overall pole position, also his third consecutive pole at the Circuit of the Americas. Sebastian Vettel qualified second, but was demoted from second to fifth on the grid after being given a three-place grid penalty for failing to slow down sufficiently under red flags, thus putting Kimi Räikkönen and Valtteri Bottas up to second and third, respectively. In the race, Räikkönen snatched the lead from Hamilton at the start, while there were a series of first-lap incidents that included a collision between Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo, dropping Vettel down the field. The virtual safety car was later deployed on lap 11, two laps after Ricciardo retired from the race with a technical issue, and Hamilton took a pit stop at the end of the lap before the virtual safety car ended on the next lap. Max Verstappen pitted at the end of lap 23 to gain an undercut and overtake Bottas after the latter pitted on the next lap. Hamilton took a second pit stop at the end of lap 37, putting him behind Räikkönen, Verstappen and Bottas, though Bottas allowed Hamilton to pass him on the start/finish straight on lap 40 so Hamilton could close in on Verstappen and Räikkönen. After briefly battling for second place on lap 54, Hamilton went wide at Turn 18, leaving Verstappen in second place, while Vettel overtook Bottas on the penultimate lap for fourth place. Räikkönen went on to take his twenty-first overall victory, also his first win since the 2013 Australian Grand Prix. Verstappen kept ahead of Hamilton, while Vettel's fourth-place finish resulted in Hamilton not winning the championship with three races remaining. __TOC__ Background After winning the previous four races, Hamilton entered the United States Grand Prix with the chance to become world champion, if he finished: *First while Vettel finished third or lower *Second while Vettel finished fifth or lower *Third while Vettel finished seventh or lower *Fourth while Vettel finished eighth or lower *Fifth while Vettel finished ninth or lower *Sixth while Vettel finished eleventh or lower Entry list Practice Overview FP1 FP2 FP3 Practice Results Qualifying Q1 Q2 Q3 Qualifying Results ** Vettel was given a three-place grid penalty for failing to slow down sufficiently under red flags in FP1. *† Gasly was forced to start from the back of the grid after using his seventh ICE, seventh turbocharger, seventh MGU-H and sixth MGU-K. *‡ Hartley was forced to start from the back of the grid after using his eighth ICE, eighth turbocharger, eighth MGU-H and seventh MGU-K, and for an unscheduled gearbox change. *§ Verstappen was given a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change. Grid ** Vettel was given a three-place grid penalty for failing to slow down sufficiently under red flags in FP1. *† Verstappen was given a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change. *‡ Gasly was forced to start from the back of the grid after using his seventh ICE, seventh turbocharger, seventh MGU-H and sixth MGU-K. *§ Hartley was forced to start from the back of the grid after using his eighth ICE, eighth turbocharger, eighth MGU-H and seventh MGU-K, and for an unscheduled gearbox change. Race Report Results *Kevin Magnussen was disqualified post-race after it was found that he had used more than 105 kilograms of fuel. *Esteban Ocon was disqualified post-race after it was found that he exceeded the maximum fuel flow rate (100 kilograms per hour) on the first lap. Milestones *Valtteri Bottas' 115th start (116th entry). *Lewis Hamilton's 130th front row start. *Lewis Hamilton goes on level with Alain Prost for the third highest number of fastest laps. *Kimi Räikkönen's first win since the 2013 Australian Grand Prix, a gap of 113 races. **Raikkonen also held a new record for having the most victories for a Finnish driver (21), one more than Mika Häkkinen. Standings after race Notes Category:Grand Prix articles Category:2018 Grands Prix Category:United States Grand Prix Category:Formula One races in the United States